What to Wear to Tết in Hanoi
Mùng 1 Tết: Saturday, February 6, 2027 · Hanoi (Hoàn Kiếm, pagodas and family homes)
NOAA NCEI's record for Hanoi's WMO station 48820, February averages; drizzle is logged on far more days than measurable rain. Daylight is for 6 February.
Tết in Hanoi 2027: New Year's Day 6 February, 21°C / 70°F, drizzle, and an áo dài for the first visits.
- Red or a bright colour — red stands for luck at Tết
- An áo dài for family visits and pagodas — the custom VNAT describes
- A light cotton coat — 16°C and damp after dark
- Closed shoes you slip off — at pagodas and homes
- A compact umbrella — drizzle on about half the days
- Shorts or bare shoulders at a pagoda
- All black or all white on the first day
- Canvas or suede in a month of drizzle
- A heavy winter coat at 21°C
Packing philosophy
Pack for drizzle and a week of visits. Mùng 1 Tết falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, and the Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed a public-sector holiday from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February. NOAA NCEI's record for Hanoi's station 48820 gives February 21.5°C by day and 15.8°C at night, with only 25mm of rain but drizzle logged on about 16 days and humidity above 80%, so canvas and suede never dry. The first days of Tết go to family, then to pagodas: the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism describes people in áo dài visiting pagodas on the first day. So pack a red áo dài with ivory trousers, a light coat over it, closed shoes you can slip off, and an umbrella.
Hanoi's Tết happens in a fine drizzle, among peach blossoms and pagoda incense. A red áo dài under a light coat is dressed for all of it.
What the dress code actually is
Tết has no written dress code, but it has a strong custom, and the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism describes it: at Tết women wear the áo dài to visit family and pay respects at temples and pagodas, and on the first morning people in áo dài go to pagodas and burn incense. Red stands for luck; black and white are for mourning and read wrong on the first days. A visitor is welcome in an áo dài; have one made by a Hanoi tailor or buy one from a shop that makes them, rather than a costume version, and wear it with its trousers. The first person to enter a home after midnight is thought to set the household's luck for the year, so don't arrive first at a family's door unless invited. At a pagoda, cover shoulders and knees, take off hats, and leave shoes at the step.
The capsule
01Red silk áo dài tunicThe áo dài is what Hanoi wears to the first family visits and to the pagoda, and red is the colour of luck at Tết. Lụa silk is light for a 21°C / 70°F afternoon and takes a coat over it for the 16°C evening. The long panels and high collar cover everything a pagoda asks you to cover.
02Ivory pleated wide-leg trousersAn áo dài is always worn over trousers, and ivory is the classic partner to red. Wide legs move under the side slits. On other days they go with the knit and the blazer.
03Light tan single-breasted cotton overcoatFebruary evenings in Hanoi fall to 16°C / 61°F in a fine, persistent drizzle. A knee-length cotton coat covers the áo dài without crushing it, and cotton dries faster than wool in 80% humidity.
04Navy leather pointed low-heel pumpsShoes come off at the pagoda step and at family doors, and a low pump slips off in one move. Smooth leather survives the drizzle where canvas soaks through, and a low heel is right with an áo dài.
05Charcoal wind-resistant compact umbrellaNOAA NCEI's Hanoi record logs drizzle on about 16 February days. A compact umbrella keeps silk dry between visits and folds away inside the pagoda gate.
06White ribbed cropped knit with red rose appliquéFor the days after the first visits, when the áo dài is put away. A light knit with a red rose carries the festive colour into a walk round Hoàn Kiếm's flower stalls at 21°C.
07Men's navy unstructured notch-lapel blazerThe menswear answer for a New Year visit: a jacket over a shirt reads as respectful to elders without a suit. An unstructured blazer is light enough for 21°C and warm enough with a knit at night.
Day to night
Red silk áo dài · ivory trousers · navy pumps · umbrella. Family visits on the first morning, then incense at a pagoda, shoes off at the step.
Tan coat over the áo dài · umbrella. Dinner with family and a walk past the flower stalls at about 16°C / 61°F.
A suggested look — red silk áo dài, ivory wide-leg trousers, tan cotton overcoat draped over the shoulders, navy pointed pumps.
What to avoid
- Shorts or bare shoulders at a pagoda
- All black or all white on the first days
- Canvas or suede in the drizzle
- A heavy winter coat
- Being the first visitor uninvited
Frequently asked questions
An áo dài or smart clothes in red or a bright colour, a light coat and closed shoes you can slip off. NOAA NCEI's Hanoi record gives February 21°C / 70°F by day and 16°C / 61°F at night, with frequent drizzle. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism describes women wearing áo dài at Tết to visit family and pagodas.
Yes, and it is usually welcomed. Have one made by a tailor or buy it from a shop that makes them, wear it with its trousers, and choose red or another bright colour for the first days. Avoid costume versions and short or cut-down styles at a pagoda.
Mùng 1 Tết, the first day of the Lunar New Year, is Saturday 6 February 2027. The Ministry of Home Affairs has proposed a seven-day public-sector holiday from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February; the final dates are set by the government.
Mild, grey and damp. NOAA NCEI's record for Hanoi's station 48820 gives February 21.5°C by day and 15.8°C at night, with 25mm of rain but drizzle on about 16 days and humidity above 80%. Daylight is about 11 hours 18 minutes on 6 February.
At several sites across the city at midnight on New Year's Eve. In 2026 Hanoi fired from 33 sites between 00:00 and 00:15, including Thống Nhất Park and low-altitude points around Hoàn Kiếm Lake. The 2027 sites are announced shortly before Tết.
Sources
- Báo Chính phủ — Tết Nguyên đán 2027: seven-day public-sector holiday proposed, 4–10 February — accessed 2026-09-29
- Vietnam National Authority of Tourism — The áo dài — accessed 2026-09-29
- Vietnam National Authority of Tourism — Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year — accessed 2026-09-29
- Government policy portal — Hanoi's 33 Tết fireworks sites, 2026 edition — accessed 2026-09-29
- Báo Chính phủ — Nguyễn Huệ Flower Street opens for Tết 2026 — accessed 2026-09-29
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information — Climate Data Online — accessed 2026-04-23
